Stones came in for criticism for his performance against Scotland last week despite picking up a clean sheet, but the England manager wants to nurture Stones's talent rather than force him to change.

"You need defenders who are comfortable on the ball," he said. "Did we inhibit Rio [Ferdinand]? We have to encourage those type of players."

He has previously said: “For years we have talked about not being able to play out from the back, and if we are going to progress we have to be different.”

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“We have to encourage players, but John also knows what I think of some of the things he did. We want bravery, but not stupidity. We have to find that balance.

“I think what we have to remember is that he’s 22. In central defensive terms, it’s nothing.

“If we want to have a [Mats] Hummels, a [Jerome] Boateng, a [Gerard] Pique, then you must encourage. I can remember managing a team against Pique at 22 when he played for Manchester United, and he wasn’t the all-round real deal.

“John has the perfect manager (Pep Guardiola) to work with and to hone his game. I think for all our defenders that is what we want to encourage.”